The recently released “2024 Shooting Sports—Retail sales and inventory executive snapshot,” unfortunately, presents a year-over-year 5 to 10 percent decline in firearm unit sales. It does contain some good news, however. Suppressor sales were up more than 80 percent in 2024.
“In 2024, suppressor sales experienced extraordinary growth, with units sold increasing 80.2% year-over-year and revenue rising 87.2%,” the report states. “Compared to 2019, unit sales were 264% higher, reflecting explosive long-term demand driven by favorable regulatory changes and improved processing times for NFA applications.”
The study is based on sales and inventory information gleamed from the 2,400 retailers using GoGearfire services nationwide. Kaleb Seymour, the company’s vice president of data and analytics, compiled the report.
For enthusiasts eager to take a suppressor home in 2025, Seymour warned, “End-of-year inventory levels for suppressors remain critically low despite the surge in sales, with inventory down 34.7% year-over-year and only 4.6% higher than 2019, indicating that retailers are struggling to keep up with demand. The mismatch between sales growth and inventory levels underscores the rapid pace at which suppressors are moving off shelves.”
Last year, FFLs using the Gearfire—which includes online retailers—had their new gun sales drop 11.4 percent. In 2023 the figure was down 17 percent. If the Seymour’s prediction that 2025 could end the four-year string of double-digit sales declines—that began in 2021—rings true, a stabilized a new-normal purchase pace may be gelling.
It faces some serious headwind, however. “The anticipated return of the Trump administration in 2025, with its pro-Second Amendment stance, is unlikely to generate a significant sense of urgency for firearm purchases … ,” Seymour wrote. “With no immediate federal regulatory threats, the market is expected to rely more on a favorable economic environment—such as increased discretionary income—and external geopolitical conflicts to drive demand. These factors differ from prior years when political uncertainty was a primary driver of surging sales. However, while federal regulations may remain limited, potential state level regulatory actions could still influence localized demand.”
Handgun sales suffered the worst last year, declining by 12.4 percent. Rifle and shotgun sales also declined, with drops of 11.2 and 7.02 percent, respectively. Not surprisingly, ammunition and optics sales followed suit (at -7.1 and -8.1 percent).
